AKTU takes digital route to make evaluation foolproof
The Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University has opted for digital evaluation of answer sheets. The process has begun from the annual examination this year.
This year, nearly 50% of the answer sheets were evaluated through the digital system. Next year, all the answer sheets will be evaluated in this manner.
The automated and digitised process will minimise human error and prevent the evaluator from skipping an answer sheet.
Explaining how the system works, vice chancellor Vinay Pathak says: “After examinations, the answer scripts are scanned at the zonal centres and stored in the central database. The evaluators are allowed to correct the digitally-available answer scripts at their respective workplace itself or at the identified evaluation centres.”
Talking to HT, he spells out the benefits: It has transformed the archaic manual evaluation and has made it a more transparent, structured and credible marking system. It is a secure evaluation process to ensure there are no malpractices.”
The evaluator has to go through the answer sheets for a minimum specified time as decided by the university. A digital pen will have to be used in the process.
Each evaluated answer script will be cross-checked. If differences are found in the marks awarded during the two evaluations, the scripts would be evaluated for a third time.
The marks entered by the evaluators are transferred to the result-processing system immediately on completion of the evaluation, thereby enabling quick publication of results. The process will also avoid any data entry errors.
Pathak explains that the primary objective of this initiative is to bring in transparency, efficiency, speed up the evaluation process and reduce the logistic cost.
Besides, the software is such that it prevents the evaluator from awarding more marks to an answer sheet than the maximum marks. Under the manual system, there have been instances in the past when the evaluator ended up awarding more marks than the maximum to a particular question. But this software would prevent the evaluator from doing so. It will not record marks beyond maximum marks.
The next page of the answer book will pop up on the computer screen only when the evaluator has gone through the previous page and spent a specified minimum time in reading it.
The university official said that evaluation of written examinations were often plagued by inconsistency with delays in evaluation, erroneous tabulation and missing papers resulting in diluted trust in the system.